Odisha CHSE +2 Vocational IT/ITeS CRM Domestic Voice cheat sheet

IT/ITeS means Information Technology and Information Technology Enabled Services; voice-based customer support is a BPM (Business Process Management) service delivered over telecom links.

Domestic voice process serves customers inside India in Indian languages or Indian English; international voice process serves overseas customers, usually in neutral accent English.

Inbound process: customer contacts the company (support, order, complaint). Outbound process: agent contacts the customer (sales, verification, collection, feedback, tele-survey).

Blended process handles both inbound and outbound calls in one seat; the dialer or ACD routes calls to the logged-in agent.

CRM in this job role means Customer Relationship Management - both the business strategy of retaining customers and the software that stores customer data.

Typical hierarchy: agent/CSR reports to team leader, who reports to assistant manager/manager; quality analysts audit calls independently of the reporting line.

Common delivery centres: captive units (in-house, one client) and third-party BPOs (multiple clients); both follow SLA-based contracts.

Key performance indicators for a voice agent: AHT, quality score, CSAT, first call resolution, login hours, adherence and shrinkage.

Communication process elements: sender, message, channel, receiver, feedback, and noise (any interference that distorts the message).

In telephony the channel is audio only, so tone, pronunciation and clarity replace body language; roughly 70% of caller impression comes from voice and delivery.

Sentence stress in English: content words (nouns, verbs, adjectives) are stressed; function words (articles, prepositions, auxiliaries) are weak forms.

Standard telephone English avoids contractions in negative questions for clarity - say 'I cannot confirm' rather than 'can't' when the line is poor.

Active voice and short sentences reduce mishearing: 'I will send the form today' is clearer than 'the form will be sent today by us'.

Phoneme pairs commonly confused by Indian English speakers: /v/ vs /w/ (vest–west), /p/ vs /f/, /s/ vs /sh/, and /θ/ (think) vs /t/.

Spelling over the phone uses the NATO alphabet: A-Alpha, B-Bravo, C-Charlie, D-Delta, E-Echo, N-November, S-Sierra, Z-Zulu.

Reading back and paraphrasing ('So what I understand is…') are the two standard checks that confirm message accuracy before closing.

Service quality dimensions (RATER): Reliability, Assurance, Tangibles, Empathy, Responsiveness; reliability is rated most important by customers.

A moment of truth is any single interaction where the customer forms a judgement about the company; each call is one.

Customer lifetime value (CLV) is the total profit a customer generates over the relationship; retention is cheaper than acquisition.

CRM types: operational (day-to-day transactions, ticketing), analytical (segmentation, churn analysis), collaborative (shared customer data across channels).

Customer data stored in CRM: contact details, interaction history, purchase records, consent/preferences, and complaint status.

Service recovery paradox: a well-handled complaint can raise satisfaction above the pre-failure level; a badly handled one drives churn.

CSAT is measured per interaction (usually a 1–5 scale); NPS uses 'how likely to recommend' on 0–10, where 9–10 are promoters and 0–6 detractors.

Data privacy rule: collect only what is needed, use it only for the stated purpose, and never disclose account data without identity verification.

Inbound call flow: greeting within 3 rings, verify identity, identify need, resolve or log, confirm resolution, summarise, close with a standard closing.

Greeting components: company name, your name, offer of help - for example 'Thank you for calling [company], this is [name], how may I help you?'

Call control tools: hold (ask permission, give a reason, thank on return), transfer (warm transfer briefs the receiving agent), and call-back when wait time is long.

Dead air on hold should not exceed about 30 seconds without an update; long silent holds are a top complaint driver.

Outbound call opening must state who you are, the company, and the purpose within the first 15–20 seconds to avoid early disconnects.

Outbound compliance: check the do-not-call/DND status, call only within permitted hours, and end immediately if the customer refuses.

AHT = talk time + hold time + after-call work (ACW) divided by number of calls handled.

Wrap-up/ACW discipline: disposition codes and notes must be entered before the agent goes ready, otherwise the next call's data is lost.

Answer within three rings; if you must answer later, apologise briefly for the delay rather than ignoring it.

Never eat, chew, or drink while on a live call; mute is used for coughing or background noise, not for side conversations.

Speak at roughly 120–150 words per minute; rate too fast reduces comprehension, rate too slow suggests inefficiency.

Do not use slang, jargon, or regional idioms; use the customer's name at most two or three times in a call.

Place the customer on hold only with permission; return within the promised time and thank them for waiting.

Before ending, ask 'Is there anything else I can help you with?' then use the agreed closing and wait for the customer to hang up first.

Transfer etiquette: announce the transfer, give the reason, share the customer's details with the receiving agent, and stay on the line until the handover is complete.

Avoid negative phrasing: say 'I will check that for you' instead of 'I don't know' and 'let me find a solution' instead of 'that's not possible'.

Voice modulation has four levers: pitch (high/low), pace (fast/slow), volume (loud/soft) and tone (warm/flat); inflection at sentence end signals question versus statement.

Smiling while speaking lifts the soft palate and is audible as warmth; it is a trained technique, not a myth.

Active listening stages: receive, attend, understand, respond, remember; paraphrasing and summarising prove the 'understand' stage.

Barriers to listening: pre-judging, rehearsing your reply, environmental noise, emotional bias, and selective listening for keywords.

Empathic responses acknowledge feeling first, then solve: 'I understand this has been frustrating' precedes any technical step.

Confirm numbers, spellings and reference IDs by read-back; do not assume you heard correctly on a poor line.

Silence of 2–3 seconds after a customer finishes lets them add information and prevents interruption; interrupting is a top quality audit failure.

Tone must stay neutral when the customer is angry; matching volume or sarcasm escalates the call and is a disciplinary issue.

CRM screen fields typically used: customer ID, contact number, product, issue category, disposition, notes, and follow-up date.

Disposition codes classify each call outcome (resolved, escalated, callback, wrong number, no answer); wrong codes corrupt reporting.

Dialer types: preview (agent sees record before dialing), progressive (system dials when agent free), predictive (dials ahead using answer-rate statistics), and auto-dialer.

Predictive dialers raise agent utilisation but risk abandoned calls; abandoned-call rate is regulated and monitored.

ACD (Automatic Call Distributor) queues and routes inbound calls by skill group; IVR collects menu input before an agent is reached.

Data entry rules: one record per customer, no duplicate creation, mandatory fields completed, notes factual and free of personal opinion.

Knowledge base and SOP documents are the source of truth; if the SOP is unclear, raise it to the team leader rather than improvising.

System hygiene: lock the screen when leaving the desk, never share login credentials, and log out of CRM at end of shift.

Complaint handling sequence: listen without interrupting, acknowledge and empathise, apologise for the experience, take ownership, act, confirm, and close.

Escalation matrix levels are typically L1 agent, L2 team leader/senior, L3 manager or specialist; each level has a defined time limit (TAT).

Escalate immediately, without trying resolution first, for: legal threats, media/social-media threats, safety risk, data breach, or repeated failure on the same ticket.

Angry-customer de-escalation: lower volume, slow pace, use the customer's name, avoid 'you' blame statements, and never argue or match anger.

The LAST model: Listen, Apologise, Solve, Thank - a four-step structure for complaint calls.

Never promise what you cannot deliver; if the fix needs 48 hours, say 48 hours and set a follow-up rather than over-promising.

Root cause categories used in complaint logs: product defect, process delay, communication gap, billing error, or agent behaviour.

Document the escalation in CRM with ticket number, timestamp, and owner; undocumented escalations are treated as not escalated.

Ergonomic workstation rules: monitor top at or slightly below eye level, elbows at about 90 degrees, feet flat, back supported, screen about an arm's length away.

Follow the 20-20-20 rule for eye strain: every 20 minutes look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds.

Voice care: hydrate with water, avoid very cold drinks and shouting, take scheduled breaks between calls, and rest the voice during breaks.

Headset hygiene: wipe ear cushions, do not share headsets, and report damaged headsets rather than using a faulty one.

Electrical and fire safety: know exit routes and extinguisher locations, never overload sockets, and report sparking or damaged cabling immediately.

POSH policy: sexual harassment includes unwelcome verbal, non-verbal and physical conduct; complaints go to the Internal Committee (IC), and confidentiality is maintained.

Attendance and leave policy: login/logout adherence, shift timings, notice before planned leave, and medical certificate rules for sick leave.

Information security policy: no pen drives or personal phones on the floor, no photographing screens, clean-desk rule, and immediate reporting of any data leak.

Employability skills clusters: communication, teamwork, problem solving, self-management, digital literacy, and customer orientation.

SMART goals: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound - used in appraisals and self-development plans.

Resume essentials: reverse-chronological order, quantified achievements, no false claims, and a tailored cover note per application.

Entrepreneurship basics: idea, market need, value proposition, funding sources (own savings, bank loan, government schemes such as Mudra or Stand-Up India), and break-even point.

Break-even quantity = fixed costs divided by (selling price per unit minus variable cost per unit).

Green IT practices: power down idle systems, use both sides of paper, segregate e-waste, prefer digital documents over print, and use video/audio conferencing instead of travel.

E-waste must go to authorised recyclers; dumping batteries or monitors in ordinary bins is a policy violation.

Teamwork and conflict: address issues with facts and the person concerned, use 'I' statements, and escalate only when direct discussion fails.

Practical assessment for voice roles typically includes a mock call scored on greeting, verification, listening, resolution accuracy, tone, hold/transfer handling, and closing.

Quality audit scores use a checklist with weighted parameters; a 'fatal' (zero-tolerance) error such as data disclosure can fail the call regardless of other marks.

A project report structure: title, objective, scope, methodology, observations/data, analysis, conclusion, and references.

Role-play evaluation uses a rubric - usually 4–5 criteria on a 1–5 scale - with marks for process adherence, communication, empathy, and system handling.

Viva/internal assessment questions commonly ask for definitions (AHT, CSAT, disposition, escalation matrix) and one worked calculation.

Sample AHT calculation: 3 calls with talk time 180 s, 240 s, 300 s, hold 20 s each, ACW 40 s each → total 840 s ÷ 3 = 280 s AHT.

Evidence for the portfolio: call recordings with consent, audit sheets, CRM screenshots with dummy data, attendance and certification copies.

Project data must be anonymised; real customer names, numbers or account details must never appear in a submitted report.

Practical assessment for voice roles typically includes a mock call scored on greeting, verification, listening, resolution accuracy, tone, hold/transfer handling, and closing.

Quality audit scores use a checklist with weighted parameters; a 'fatal' (zero-tolerance) error such as data disclosure can fail the call regardless of other marks.

A project report structure: title, objective, scope, methodology, observations/data, analysis, conclusion, and references.

Role-play evaluation uses a rubric - usually 4–5 criteria on a 1–5 scale - with marks for process adherence, communication, empathy, and system handling.

Viva/internal assessment questions commonly ask for definitions (AHT, CSAT, disposition, escalation matrix) and one worked calculation.

Sample AHT calculation: 3 calls with talk time 180 s, 240 s, 300 s, hold 20 s each, ACW 40 s each → total 840 s ÷ 3 = 280 s AHT.

Evidence for the portfolio: call recordings with consent, audit sheets, CRM screenshots with dummy data, attendance and certification copies.

Project data must be anonymised; real customer names, numbers or account details must never appear in a submitted report.